Researchers urge wildlife surveys within hours of prescribed burns after finding that signs of animal deaths vanish in under two weeks, leading to major undercounts of fire impacts on Australian wildlife. Adelaide University scientists tracked burns in the Mount Lofty Ranges and noted over half of lizard carcasses appeared just 28 hours post-fire. All remains were gone within 12 days, likely taken by scavengers. Published in the Australian Journal of Zoology, the study indicates that standard monitoring misses much of the immediate harm from controlled burning. Lead author Dr. Shawn Scott stressed that surveys must occur right after fires to capture accurate numbers of small animals killed. Delays of days or weeks can sharply underestimate deaths and skew views of fire effects on biodiversity. The work covered 10 burns in southern eucalypt forests from 2022 to 2024, recording 27 dead lizards across four species, with 52 percent found just over a day after flames were out. None appeared before burns or beyond 12 days later. Scavengers such as birds, foxes, cats and insects quickly clear bodies from burned areas, rendering later checks unreliable. Though focused on lizards, results likely apply to other small creatures. The authors recommend immediate surveys to better assess impacts on mammals, frogs and invertebrates. Co-author Associate Professor Sophie Petit noted that prescribed burns do kill animals and that assumptions of universal escape are false. Such burning is common in southeastern Australia to cut fuel and lower wildfire risk, yet data on animal deaths remain scarce because checks rarely happen promptly. Better monitoring is needed to balance fire prevention with wildlife protection, the team said.
